Black Girl Magic

Chapter 7

The moment the words came out of my mouth, I felt something rise inside me, burning hot right in the middle of my chest...I froze as my limbs seized up, and in the next moment, it felt like something powerful was waiting to be released inside me. Marie did say that when I left the graveyard, my powers would be fully unlocked, but who knew it would feel like this? I heard what sounded like yelling, but it was muffled far away. I couldn't focus on anything but the power burning in my chest.

Finally, it burst through my chest like something being released, and I felt an agonizing amount of pain in my chest. I clutch at my chest and feel my knees buckle beneath me. I was being held up, but my body felt numb except for the excruciating pain in my chest. I screamed in such a haunted manner before suddenly the pain stopped, and my chest only felt a dull burn. I could feel it again, but my vision blurred, and before I could resist, I embraced the welcoming black darkness.

Not sure how much time had passed, I woke up feeling very groggy. I heard a voice say, "Baby, are you ok? How are you feeling?" Realizing it was my mom, I said, "Like I'm tired of passing out." I heard a gurgled laugh from her, indicating she was either crying or had been crying. "Thank you, Jesus," my grandmother said quietly. I opened my eyes and looked next to me. My mom, grandmother, and Aunt Kia were sitting next to the couch, mom near my head, grandmother in the middle, and Aunt Kia near my feet, rubbing my calf.

I sat up and shook my head to clear the fog. Once I got my bearings, I saw that I was still in my ceremonial outfit and lying on a library couch. At the far end of the library, the other council members sat together, whispering until they noticed I was awake.

They all stood and surrounded the couch as well. Mrs. Delphine said, "How are you feeling, sweetheart?" When I spoke, I said quite surprised, "I'm fine actually; I'm starting to feel better every second. I sat up, startling my grandmother and my mom's hand fluttered around me as if ready to steady me. I held my hands up in front of me and looked at them, amazed. My skin was now flawless. Not that it was messed up or acne prone before, but I had almost a glow.

I said to check that I wasn't crazy, "Am I glowing?" Kia laughed loudly and said, "You're not crazy; yes, you are glowing. I don't think anyone expected such a release of power, but the guess is that this is how your magic is manifesting itself and will probably stop in a couple of hours." I said, "Good, that's not really a way you want to walk down the street. Attract too much attention." Everyone chuckled, and I looked at my grandmother, suddenly very serious, and said, "I saw Marie Laveau; she told me that I was more powerful than any of our family before us. Even though she doesn't know what my powers can come to, she thinks I may be able to defeat Naamah. She talks like Naamah made a deal with the devil for her powers."

I didn't hesitate and looked directly at Mr. Saint-Claire. He sighed and said, "I don't know what she did exactly when she sought her power. It is not something that I would mess with. I've always encouraged my children to be ambitious, smart, and do their research. I never expected her to go that far." He sighed deeply and said, "Again, this is only a guess. I'm not sure what she did, but I think if anything, she started looking towards the history of Kalfu."

The rest of the council members gasped and began praying in Creole. My mother grabbed my hand and held it close. Kia whispered, "Fuck!" I said, "Excuse me, kind of new to the voodoo game; who is Kalfu?"

Ms. Eleanora said grimly, her severe face looking scared, "Kalfu is noted as the evil master of the crossroads. He is frequently confused with Papa Legba, who is not as evil as he is portrayed in today's media. Kalfu controls the evil spirits of the underworld. He brings bad luck, misfortune, injustice, and destruction. He is the grand master of dark sorcery. If Naamah has made a pact with him, she is much more dangerous than we ever imagined."

Mr. Saint-Claire cursed and walked away a little bit, leaning on his cane heavily. He said, "Foolish child." Mr. Valentin said, "We have no time to waste then. We need not only Kaveri trained but everyone. This is a force we cannot take lightly. Instead of sitting here being scared and concerned, we need to take a stand against this evil. I'm sorry, Baptiste, but we might be unable to spare your daughter." Mr. Saint-Claire got a stern look and said, "I don't give mercy to anyone who makes a deal with a devil, including my daughter."

My grandmother stood and said, "Then we begin planning. The council will gather tomorrow morning; not only will we come up with a fight plan, but training plans for Kaveri and any of our other offspring that need brushing up on our ancestry."

My mom said, "Kaveri has school, I know this is important, but I can't expect my child to halt her whole future because of this; she still needs an education. Tomorrow is Monday, and she probably won't go but will for the rest of the week."

Mrs. Delphine said, "That's probably true for most of our grandchildren. How about we have them come out her Friday after school and do their training during the weekends? It will be a crash course, but these kids won't always be fighting evil. We can't upheave their lives." Mr. Saint-Claire snorted, but Mrs. Eleanora said, "She's right, nothing worse than a stupid young person running around." Kia snorted, quickly covering it up with a laugh. My mom gave her a look with a little smirk of her own.

I said, "I rather not be a stupid young person, so please teach me everything you can. I would value all of your wisdom. Who wouldn't want to learn from the most powerful people in Louisiana?" Kia rolled her eyes and mouthed the words "kiss ass."

My grandmother smiled at me and said, "All right, we'll meet tomorrow 8 a.m. sharp; we will gather all society members as necessary and who can come. We gather all resources, enchantments, books, charms, herbs, and everything. We will not let this woman destroy centuries of what we have built. On our ancestors, we shall protect what is ours."